CHICAGO – Jacob Misiorowski came out firing against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, May 19, as expected.
The readings were the standard triple digits. The results, well, they left a little to be desired.
Three straight balls to Nico Hoerner to start and a resulting six-pitch walk. Seven pitches to Michael Busch followed by a room-service, double-play ground ball to shortstop that David Hamilton booted.
Two on, nobody out, potential big inning for the Cubs looming.
And then, boom – back in the zone for Misiorowski, who got Alex Bregman to fly out to center and then struck out Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki to end the threat.
And it was off and running from there for the lanky right-hander, who dialed it in despite not having his usual ultra-high velocity.
His next five innings were dominant, absent any threat by an otherwise potent Cubs lineup and at the end of it all the Milwaukee Brewers were 5-2 winners at Wrigley Field and in sole possession of first place in the Central Division for the first time since April 9.
“For lack of better words, figure it out,” Misiorowski said when asked what he told himself to get back on track in the midst of that impending first-inning jam. “There’s another word in there. I saw the guys on the other side doing their job, so it was more like I’ve got to figure out my stuff and do my job on my side.”
Misiorowski dialed up triple digits 11 times in that opening frame and only eight times the rest of the way, and counterpart Ben Brown actually induced three more swings and misses than he did in one fewer inning (15 to 12).
No matter.
He settled into a groove quickly after the first, needing only nine pitches to complete the second and six to get through the third with Milwaukee’s offense scratching together a 3-0 lead against Brown behind him.
A two-out Suzuki single in the fourth and leadoff singles by Dansby Swanson and Hoerner in the fifth and sixth, respectively, were all Chicago could manage from there and by the end of the sixth Misiorowski’s pitch count stood at a very manageable 74.
Considering he’d made it through seven innings on 93 pitches his previous time out before being pulled due to cramping, Misiorowski figured to be in position to at least match that performance on another unseasonably pleasant evening at the Friendly Confines.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be as manager Pat Murphy called upon Trevor Megill with Aaron Ashby, Chad Patrick and Abner Uribe following to seal up the series victory. Although it didn’t come easy as the Cubs scored twice in the eighth against Ashby and were threatening to draw closer with the bases loaded and two outs before Patrick put out the fire.
“First inning he’s finding his release point, finding his footing there,” Murphy said of pulling Misiorowski. “He rolled after that. Very, very good. And then he ran out of gas.
“Understandable. Young kid, throws hard. He said he was good, but that was it.”
It was around that time in his start at Washington on May 1 that Misiorowski had to be pulled in the midst of an active no-hitter due to cramping. The same thing happened as he took the mound for the eighth against the San Diego Padres on May 13, although this time Misiorowski indicated he’d simply had enough.
“It’s just my body,” he said. “It kind of hits a wall and if anything you just get tired. I was giving it everything I’ve got for six innings and just hit a wall.
“I think it was more just we were up three and it’s not worth me trying to scrounge three outs. I can turn it over to our bullpen, who’s been excellent, and have those guys take off and do their job and succeed.”
Making Misiorowski’s outing even more challenging than it needed to be was some uncertain footing on the mound. He kicked at it in an attempt at some personal manicuring early on before having the grounds crew address it entering the sixth.
“The lead plant leg was sliding around a little bit,” he said. “Nothing crazy. Had to figure it out. Not a big factor.”
Misiorowski finished having scattered three singles and walked one while striking out eight and extending his scoreless innings streak to 24 ⅓ innings. Only Cristopher Sánchez of the Philadelphia Phillies has had a longer such run this season, with his at 29 ⅔ and counting.
It’s the Brewers’ longest scoreless streak since Freddy Peralta put up zeroes for 30 straight innings from Aug. 5-Sept. 10 last season.
Misiorowski has also struck out at least eight in five straight games, becoming the first Milwaukee hurler to do so since Corbin Burnes did it seven straight times from April 3-May 19, 2021 – his Cy Young Award season.
He’s now 4-2 with a 1.89 ERA, WHIP of 0.88 and a major-league-leading 88 strikeouts in 57 innings of work
“It’s one of those things you’ve just got to keep going with it,” Misiorowski said when asked if he’s cognizant of how dominant he’s been in this latest stretch. “It’s obviously working so why change something and why think about it? Just keep going.
“To think about it is for the offseason. That’s the time to process everything.”
The win was the first of Misiorowski’s young career against the Cubs – with many more in the seasons to come if the 24-year-old and the Brewers have anything to say about it.
“It’s always fun to face someone that you’re an hour away from,” he said. “The fans get behind you and it’s a whole lot of fun in that way too. You get chirped at going into the bullpen and with the bleacher creatures, it’s fun.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jacob Misiorowski figures it out after shaky beginning, dominates Cubs
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
